If he could change one thing about his Chevy Volt, Kaffee said, it would be to add 2 or 3 inches of legroom to the rear seat.

He knew he was buying a four-seat car, so that wasn't an issue, but the rear seats are just a little tighter than he and his friends would prefer.

Few charging stations

Kaffee says he mostly plugs in his Volt at home, and doesn't make any effort to locate or seek out public charging stations.

He said that he's seen charging stations here and there on his travels--he mentioned six or eight at the PepsiCo headquarters in Purchase, New York--but isn't a member of ChargePoint or any other network of stations.

His only disappointment with the Volt, he said, was that public charging infrastructure on the East Coast is relatively less developed than in other regions, particularly the West Coast.

He recalled driving down the coast in Oregon, seeing multiple charging stations every 25 or 30 miles.

Environment and energy security

What led Jeff Kaffee, a 20-year military pilot before entering commercial aviation, to buy his first Chevrolet since the 1970s?